Pedal assemblies are used in vehicles to control the movement of the vehicle. For example, a vehicle driver applies a force to a brake pedal to move the pedal from a rest position to a use position. In the use position, the brake pedal actuates a vehicle braking system, which slows or stops the vehicle. Often these pedal assemblies include an adjustment apparatus that allows the position of a pedal arm and/or a pedal pad to be moved with respect to the driver. This allows the pedal assembly to accommodate drivers of various heights. Thus, the adjustment apparatus allows the pedal assembly to be moved closer to the driver when the driver is short and allows the pedal assembly to be moved further away from the driver when the driver is tall.
The pedal assembly must be capable of withstanding normal pedal forces that occur during the normal operation of the vehicle. The pedal assembly is connected to the vehicle by a support mechanism. The pedal arm is usually pivotally mounted to this support mechanism to allow pivotal movement of the pedal arm between the rest and use positions. When the driver presses down hard on the pedal pad, such as when the driver is attempting to avoid colliding with another vehicle or some other object, the large force that is exerted on the pedal pad is transferred to the support mechanism.
In known pedal assemblies, when the vehicle is in a collision, the driver typically has braced himself against the pedal pad in an attempt to stop the vehicle and avoid the collision. But if the vehicle actually hits another object, a large force is exerted against the driver via the pedal assembly. In other words, the driver is exerting a force on the pedal from one direction while a collision force is being exerted on the pedal assembly from an opposing direction. Usually the collision force is greater than the force exerted by the driver on the pedal pad. This can result in the pedal assembly being forced upwardly toward the driver causing various pedal components to contact and possibly injure the driver. This is especially important with pedal assemblies that include an adjustment apparatus because there are more pedal components that can potentially injure the driver.
Thus, it is desirable to have a pedal assembly with a support mechanism that allows the pedal to pivot between rest and use positions during normal vehicle operation, but which is designed to move the pedal assembly away from the vehicle driver when the vehicle is in a collision.